1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a light fixture having a lamp socket support housing provided with an adaptor to receive a lamp reflector mounted on the adaptor by interlocking tabs which permit twist on and off attachment and detachment of the reflector with respect to the housing.
2. Background
Various types of so called industrial or commercial lighting fixtures are known which are generally characterized by a support housing for a lamp socket which housing may also enclose electrical components such as ballast and starter elements. The fixtures typically also include a reflector attached to the housing by certain types of mechanical fasteners such as conventional threaded screws or the like. The operating environment and location of many applications of commercial lighting fixtures is such that access to the fixture for removal of the reflector for repair or replacement is difficult and often requires that the service worker be standing on a ladder or otherwise in a difficult position to work. In this regard the problems associated with putting the reflector in a position to be attached with conventional fasteners are particularly aggravated and place the worker in a hazardous situation or at least make it difficult to hold the reflector with one hand while attaching it with the other. Moreover, the operating environment of many industrial lighting fixtures is such that the fixtures are subject to vibration, high wind loads, ice accumulation and other factors which require that the reflector be firmly attached to the housing.
Although certain components of industrial lighting fixtures such as globes and lenses as well as lens guards have been developed which are adapted to be twisted on and off the support housing, as evidenced by the inventions in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,191,021 and 3,383,269 assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the forces to which a relatively large, lightweight structure such as a reflector are subjected due to wind loads and the like require a substantially positive locking connection between the reflector and its support structure. It is to this end that the present invention has been developed with a view to providing a reflector connection to a support housing of an industrial lighting fixture and the like which overcomes the problems associated with prior art type reflector attachments.